A while back, I wrote a play. I was in conversations with a theater company about producing this play when the world shut down. A lot of things happened after that. You know what I’m talking about. Now, theaters wants to produce plays with a message, plays that say something about the world we liveContinue reading “tell the story”
Category Archives: life
tunneling to the other side
Last night, I watched If These Walls Could Sing, a documentary about Abbey Road Studios, on Disney+ and had an absolutely ball. What resonated more than anything was the number of musicians who spoke about Abbey Road Studios with a sense of spiritual awe, as though the space itself is a portal to where creativityContinue reading “tunneling to the other side”
speaking truth to power
I recently listened to an episode of The Moment with Brian Koppelman in which Koppelman reflects on his late father’s influence and the lessons learned from watching his father operate in the music business. One of these lessons is how to speak truth to power, a privilege that stems from a similar place as professionalContinue reading “speaking truth to power”
ask for what you want
Every time I decide to write about my “Rules to Live By,” this is where I get stuck. It’s a simple enough piece of advice, and yet I’ve struggled with it throughout much of my life. The first time I heard this nugget of wisdom articulated this way, I’d just begun working as an apprenticeContinue reading “ask for what you want”
things I did this year
New Year’s Eve always puts me in a reflective mood. I’ve always felt this is a day for looking back to remember the previous year while preparing for the next trip around the sun. A few years back, I started compiling a list of things I’d done in the previous year. This has become aContinue reading “things I did this year”
recent musings
It’s been a busy couple of weeks. A few highlights:
no hard drugs, no superheroes
A friend of mine recently pointed to a word of advice Leonardo DiCaprio once gave Timothy Chalamet: “No hard drugs and no superhero movies.” As far as advice relating to self-control, both with regard to the pursuit of pleasure and every artist’s relentless quest for validation, this is solid gold.
opening the cabinet
I recently received a notice that I’ve been running my Tumblr page, “The Beginning of Your Meaning, Friend,” for ten years. The original idea was for my Tumblr to function as an “artist’s playground,” a space to accumulate the raw materials that would inform my writing and artwork. Even the title of the blog, stolenContinue reading “opening the cabinet”
don’t dream it, be it…
For three years in college, I played Brad Majors in an annual production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The production, mounted in a seedy bar on the edge of campus, featured full-scale musical numbers and plays host to a slew of University of Dayton-specific callbacks, Easter eggs, and references. Contrary to what you mightContinue reading “don’t dream it, be it…”
head down. mouth shut. (or “discretion if the better part of valor”)
I’ve never liked how I worded number three on my list of rules to live by. When taken by itself, the phrase “head down, mouth shut” seems to imply looking the other way in the face of atrocity (much like the German baker in Band of Brothers, who claims not to have known there wasContinue reading “head down. mouth shut. (or “discretion if the better part of valor”)”
joshua chamberlain 